The security forces continued to be
responsible for human rights violations including torture. The National Human Rights Commission recorded three cases
of death in judicial custody, two cases of unlawful detention, seven cases of
false implication of innocent civilians and six cases of other police excesses from
Himachal Pradesh during the period of 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007.

According
to the National Crime Records Bureau, 2,702 complaints were registered against
police personnel in Himachal Pradesh during 2006. As many as 1,805 police
personnel were sent up for trials during the year.

On 20 April 2007, mother-son duo
identified as Ratna Devi and Jagdish, residents of Khagyas village, were
reportedly abused and beaten up by a jawan of the Indian Reserve Battalion
(IRB) in Chamba district following an altercation.

On the night 2 August 2007, 14 persons,
residents of Baldoa village under Haripur police station in Kangra district,
were allegedly tortured and stripped by police personnel headed by the Station
House Officer, Haripur in police custody at the Dhera police station. The
victims alleged that they were tortured in order to withdraw a dowry death
case. All the victims received injuries and one of them had an eardrum
punctured. The medical examination, following the court direction, was
consistent with the allegations of violation.

As on 1 January 2008, there were two
vacancies of judges in the Himachal Pradesh High Court. There were 11 vacancies
in the District and Subordinate Courts as of 30 September 2007. A total of
26,781 cases were pending in the Himachal Pradesh High Court and 1,45,059 cases
were pending with the District and Subordinate Courts as of 30 September 2007.

The Himachal Pradesh State Human
Rights Commission is not function, as the Commission itself stated: “The
Commission is not functioning at present due to the reason that the post of
Chairperson is vacant”. The post of the commission chairman has been vacant
since 16 July 2005 after Justice N.K. Jain resigned from the post on 15 July
2005 after his appointment as Chairperson of Rajasthan State Human Rights
Commission. On 16 January 2006, Smt. Chandra Prabha Negi, Member of SHRC
resigned. As a result, the SHRC was left with only two members - Shri B.S.
Chauhan, Retd. District and Session Judge and Shri I.D. Bali, Senior Advocate,
Himachal Pradesh High Court.

There were
reports of atrocities against the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes
(STs) in Himachal Pradesh. According to the Himachal Pradesh Police, a total of
101 cases were registered in 2007. These included 38 cases under SC/ST
Prevention of Atrocities Act and seven rape cases. The National
Crime Records Bureau recorded 92 cases and 17 cases of atrocity against the
Dalits and the tribals respectively in 2006.

Conviction
rate in cases
of atrocities against scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) was 20
per cent in the State. In tribal areas cases of atrocities were registered
under the Indian Penal Code only and not under the Prevention of Atrocities Act.

In May 2007, a Dalit woman Sangeeta
Devi, resident of Drabala Sanghthar near Rajgarh tehsil, was allegedly beaten
up by a group of about 20 villagers in the absence of her husband.

According to Himachal Pradesh Police,
a total of 1132 cases of crime against women were reported in 2007. Of these,
30 were murder cases, 159 rape cases, 7 dowry deaths, 153 kidnapping, 324
molestations and 343 cruelty to women. In the rape cases, most of the victims
were minors. 87 cases or 54.71 percent of the total case were minors. Seven
cases of dowry death were also reported during the year.

Dam surveys
were not conducted properly. In May 2007, Renuka Dam Oustees Sangharsh Samitidemanded a fresh survey of oustees on
the basis of the panchayat record and not the revenue record. According to Yogender Kapila, chairman
of the Samiti, nearly 1,000 families would lose their homes and land due to
construction of the Renuka Dam on the Giri River at Renuka (Dadahu) in Sirmour.
However, as per the record prepared by the dam authorities, only 211 families
were shown to be displaced. The survey was reportedly conducted around 20 years
ago.

Prisons were overcrowded in the State.
In September 2007, 50 prisoners were shifted from Nahan Model Central Jail to
Kanda jail in Shimla due to overcrowding. There were 360 inmates still lodged
at the Nahan Model Central Jail against the sanctioned capacity of 198 inmates
as on 12 September 2007.

Police officials often abuse
prisoners. In March 2007, acting on a complaint by under trial inmates of the
Mandi sub jail regarding police officials’ alleged abuse, the Mandi Sessions
judge, ordered an inquiry into the matter by the additional district
magistrate. As many as 43 inmates facing trial for various offences had sent a
written complaint to the Sessions judge.

Endnotes:

Information received by ACHR from NHRC through RTI Application

2006 Annual Report of the NCRB

IRB jawan beats up woman, son, The Tribune, 22 April 2007

14 villagers allege police atrocities, The Tribune, 1 September 2007

Supreme Court of India, Court News- October – December 2007, available at: http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/CtNewsOct_Dec07.pdf

Respite for Nahan jail inmates, 50 shifted to Shimla, complex to get new wing for 110 inmates by end 2008, The Tribune, 12 September 2007, available at: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070912/himplus1.htm